Sherlock Holmes has been reinvented more times than you can shake a magnifying glass at, but the legendary detective is back with another intriguing twist in ‘Sherlock & Daughter‘, the new eight-part mystery drama starring David Thewlis, Blu Hunt and Dougray Scott, which arrives today on HBO Max UK.
For the latest episode of Geektown Talks To…, I sat down with Blu and Dougray to discuss this rather different take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous characters, what it’s like working alongside David Thewlis, bringing Victorian London to life in Ireland, and where they’d like to see the story go if there’s a second season.
And, having binged all eight episodes myself, I can happily say this is a wonderfully entertaining addition to the Sherlock Holmes universe!
A New Family Mystery For Sherlock Holmes
Set in 1896, following the famous events at Reichenbach Falls, the series introduces an older Sherlock Holmes, played brilliantly by David Thewlis (Fargo, The Sandman). He’s still the extraordinarily intelligent, wonderfully arrogant detective we know and love, but this time he’s facing a rather unusual problem.
A dangerous criminal conspiracy has left Sherlock unable to investigate freely without putting the lives of his closest friends at risk. Enter Amelia Rojas, played by Blu Hunt (The New Mutants, The Originals), a determined young American woman who arrives in London investigating her mother’s murder, and carrying the rather surprising possibility that Sherlock Holmes might actually be her father!
Meanwhile, Sherlock’s legendary nemesis, Professor James Moriarty, played by Dougray Scott (Mission: Impossible 2, Batwoman), is already behind bars. However, being locked up doesn’t necessarily mean the criminal mastermind has lost his influence, particularly with another dangerous organisation making moves in London’s underworld.
It’s a fascinating setup, and as Dougray explained during our conversation, it’s the family relationships that make this interpretation particularly interesting.
“It doesn’t just become about Sherlock Holmes solving cases. It becomes about a familial drama,” he explained, pointing to the parallels between Sherlock’s potential relationship with Amelia and Moriarty’s complicated relationship with his own son.
That additional emotional dimension gives the series something beyond the usual detective-versus-criminal-mastermind dynamic, allowing both Sherlock and Moriarty to reveal sides of themselves that we don’t often get to explore.
Working With David Thewlis And An Unusual Detective Partnership
One of the great pleasures of ‘Sherlock & Daughter’ is watching the relationship develop between Sherlock and Amelia. The two are both fiercely independent, exceptionally intelligent and, perhaps most importantly, absolutely convinced they know best!
I described David Thewlis’s Sherlock to Blu as being incredibly likeable, but also having an ego the size of a planet. As it turns out, she thinks Amelia might have inherited a little of that herself.
“She’s definitely like her father’s daughter,” Blu laughed, explaining that although Amelia approaches problems differently from Sherlock, the two share a similar confidence in their instincts.
Working with Thewlis also gave Blu an opportunity to explore those similarities in their performances, looking for little pieces of his Sherlock that might naturally appear in Amelia, even though the characters have never met before.
Of course, Sherlock isn’t particularly keen on having someone else interfering in his investigations, especially someone who isn’t inclined to follow his instructions! But with the detective’s movements restricted, Amelia finds herself taking on much of the legwork, creating a rather entertaining and occasionally frustrating partnership.
For Moriarty, meanwhile, the situation is rather different. Dougray’s version of the legendary villain is a man who may be physically imprisoned, but remains extremely dangerous.
As Dougray explained, there’s an interesting balance between Moriarty’s hatred for Sherlock and his intellectual respect for his greatest rival.
“I think intellectually they’re very well matched,” he said, explaining that despite Moriarty’s apparent lack of power, he’s still maintaining considerable influence over the criminal world outside his prison walls.
“His tentacles are very, very large and far-reaching.”
And while Moriarty might like to give the impression that he’s been thoroughly defeated, there’s clearly rather more going on beneath the surface.
Recreating Victorian London… In Ireland!
Away from the mysteries and criminal conspiracies, we also discussed the impressive production design, which does a wonderful job of bringing Victorian London to life, despite much of the series actually being filmed in Ireland.
For Blu, who hadn’t spent much time in either Ireland or London before filming, stepping into the elaborate period locations was something of a dream come true.
“I truly was in awe of so many of our sets,” she told me, recalling the experience of filming in grand manor houses and castles, alongside streets transformed with horse-drawn carriages, elaborate costumes and all the details of the Victorian era.
However, while the period setting might look gorgeous on screen, it wasn’t always the easiest environment to work in!
Blu also revealed some of the challenges of filming action sequences while wearing elaborate Victorian dresses and corsets. As someone who isn’t particularly tall, trying to get herself onto a horse was difficult enough without adding several layers of restrictive period clothing into the equation!
Still, despite the occasional discomfort, she clearly loved the costumes, particularly one of Amelia’s later dresses, which she admitted she’d happily have worn every day.
Could There Be A Season 2?
With the series having already aired in America, but no official confirmation of a second season at the time of our interview, I couldn’t resist asking where they’d like to take their characters if the show gets another run.
Dougray’s response was wonderfully straightforward.
“Somewhere hot.”
Blu was very much in agreement, suggesting another part of the world, preferably somewhere warmer, and ideally involving considerably fewer horses!
It’s probably not quite the detailed pitch for a second season that the producers were hoping for, but given the challenges of filming in Victorian costumes, you can hardly blame them!
Listen To The Full Interview
There’s plenty more to hear in our conversation, including Blu’s experiences working alongside David Thewlis, the developing relationship between Sherlock and Amelia, Dougray’s fascinating interpretation of Moriarty, and some of the behind-the-scenes challenges of bringing this new take on the detective to the screen.
One small production note: Dougray was having a rather spectacular battle with his internet connection during our interview, and briefly disappeared on us! I’ve edited out the technical chaos, but that’s why there’s a longer section with Blu before Dougray rejoins us towards the end. Apparently, even a criminal mastermind can’t outwit dodgy Wi-Fi…
You can hear the full conversation in the latest episode of Geektown Talks To…, available below or wherever you get your podcasts. And don’t forget to subscribe for more interviews with the people behind your favourite television shows and films!
‘Sherlock & Daughter‘ premieres Thursday 5 November 2026 on HBO Max UK, with episodes released weekly.
If you want to keep track of this or any other shows, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified about future UK premiere dates. Visit Never Miss.
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